David Warner's biography would have been very different had it been written a few months ago.

But his foul-mouthed Twitter tirade towards two veteran cricket writers, followed by a late-night punch on England batsman Joe Root and subsequent suspension and fine from Cricket Australia, have dramatically altered the narrative of Warner's career.

From now on, the 26-year-old will be known as 'the guy that punched an opposition player in a bar' - or as former England skipper Michael Vaughan put it, the guy with 'a screw loose' - as opposed to the swashbuckling opening batsman he had come to be known as.

That's not to say there isn't time to change his reputation - after all, there was a time when Ricky Ponting was simply 'the cricketer that got left with a black eye after a visit to Kings Cross'.

But Warner now faces an uphill battle to play any part at all in the coming Ashes series.

Raised in a housing commission estate, Warner was plucked from the obscurity of Sydney grade cricket to make his international debut in a T20 match against South Africa, and justified the selection with a breathtaking 89 off 64 balls to herald the start of a storied short-form career.

But the left-hander had grander plans beyond the white-ball game, and his dream of wearing the baggy green came true when he was handed his Test debut against New Zealand in December 2011.

There have been plenty of highlights - his 180 off just 159 balls against India had to be seen to be believed - but lowlights have dominated of late, even before his recent off-field troubles.